The Decision
by Autobot Xena
Summary: They found her an enemy. will she ever change? Rated T for language and AWESOMENESS!
1. Chapter 1

"Come on, Eliza. Can you stop fiddling with your necklace for a millisecond!"

I scowled as I put my necklace away, trying not to smile. It will only be an hour before I will lay destruction among this pathetic town. All I needed was an hour, and then it will activate.

It has been a couple of months since my allies fell to the Autobot scum. They were weak, but they did spread panic and interest among these…these humans. Little did they know who else was here to destroy. And be successful, too.

I am a Decepticon Xeno, which is a Cybertronian who has been sent to wait until the enemy arrived, and then warned the others of their presence. Like a spy, but much more lethal.

I have been on Earth ever since the Allspark was said to be there. Megatron sent me there to find it's location and broadcast the info to Decepticon headquarters as soon as possible. I immediately forgot him as soon as I saw how little Earth was protected. I remember sneering, and making fun of how easy it will be to find. But I soon saw how hard it was to even sense, and I gave up as soon as I saw how impossible it would be.

Then I came here. To learn where it was hidden. Sadly, humans were so enveloped in how they were founded, that all I learned was what you could do when you were bored in the classroom. I remember Megatron telling to act as human as possible, which is hard when you are looking for something that could resolve a problem and destroy a galaxy at the same time.

My necklace was my trigger. Megatron made me disable my vehicle and robot modes when he sent me. He said that he would warn me when I could transform, and he let me use the necklace as a reminder. It hosted the Decepticon symbol, and would pulsate when ready to reactivate my system. I only had to wait an hour….

The cursed bell rang, signaling the end of the class. I looked at the clock, and smiled with evil satisfaction. My last thought as I left the classroom: Make that thirty minutes.

"A Decepticon? In California?"

Optimus Prime shook his head, trying to make sense of the matter. Why would a Decepticon target a small town in California? There was nothing there for them to take, and all that was hidden was in Chicago. As he pondered this, someone knocked on the door, which lightened his outlook. If he could tell someone what was happening, then they could maybe shed some light on the matter. Bumblebee stumbled in, looking exasperated and worried. He had just had his voice generator fixed, but he was having trouble finding the words, because he was still used to tuning into radio stations.

"Optimus…Decepticon symbol…I mean signal…near Readlands….I mean Redlands!"

"I know, Bumblebee. Let me through. I need to talk to Professor Sumdac."

Professor Sumdac was a cyber kinetic genius, according to the humans. Maybe we could talk to him, and find out where this place is, so we could capture the runaway Decepticon. Optimus Prime rolled (he had taken some time in transforming into his vehicle mode) down to the main observatory, where nearly all the Autobots were helping the humans upload the data onto their hard drives. Ratchet saw me coming and walked over to meet me in the middle of the room.

"Well?"

He shook his head, "We can pinpoint the signal, but the system must be bugged, because the signal seems to be coming from a human school."

Bumblebee piped up, "Maybe it's there simply in hiding. I wonder what its vehicle mode is…"

Ratchet raised an eye on Bumblebee, "I see that you have been working on your voice generator. It's good to hear you talk sense again."

A man was walking over, in a midst of talking to himself rapidly. This was Professor Sumdac, and he looked as if he were puzzled.

"Strange. I have accesed the Decepticon's modes, but it seems that it has an extra mode."

Optimus was confused. How can it have one more mode? There are only two original modes: vehicle and robot mode.

Mr. Sumdac showed them an image, which he blew up to be big enough for all of them to see. It showed the PTC (Pyro Technic Codes) and he selected one. Then it showed a picture of a small human girl.

"This…this is not possible. How can this be? Decepticons can't become human, it is against the Ancient Laws!" roared Ratchet, obviously enraged at how an image of a human could be a Decepticon.

Ironhide shrugged, disabling his cannons. "Maybe it is not human. Maybe all it is is the appearance, and not the codes."

"You know, maybe we can do something. Lets get on a plane to California, and then-"

"NO, Bumblebee, we obviously can't do that. Don't you remember? After the fight with Megatron, we were never allowed to go out in public unless we have a reason for it."

Professor Sumdac coughed, smiling to himself. "Well, they didn't exactly say in which mode. I wonder if I could download the codes for the human modes, and then temporarily put them in your systems."

Optimus was shocked. What did he just say? Turn us into humans for a limited time? Was he serious?

Ratchet widened his eyes. "It seems perfectly sensible. Besides, it would only be for a little while, and then we would be perfectly fine as soon as we change back." He glanced at Optimus Prime, waiting for his approval.

He nodded. "All right, but how long will this be in our systems?"

Professor Sumdac pulled out a flash drive out of his pocket and plugged it into the code screen. "You will have freedom of modes twenty minutes after the download. We will use the teleport device you had salvaged from the last fight to get you there instantly."

"What do you mean, twenty minutes after download?" asked Bumblebee, cocking his head in confusion.

Your systems will need to adapt to the codes, so it will restrict your vehicle and robot modes for twenty minutes. When time is up, you will not transform on your own, but your sensors will send a message to your main database."

He led them to the operating room, where Rachet usually did his work. They decided to do all of them at once, in order to get there as soon as possible. Optimus was starting to think that this was a bad idea when he heard Bumblebee whisper, "This isn't going to hurt, is it?"

Ironhide laughed softly, "Come on, Bumblebee. All they are going to do is download some codes. Don't be such a sucker."

Rachet mumbled, "I hope I don't get stuck human for the rest of my cycle. I rather pride my Autobot form."

As they felt their stasis shut down, they immediately woke up again. Professor Sumdac was smiling, "Well, you look a little strange as humans, but you might want to see for yourself."

Optimus looked down at his hands, only finding human hands in their place. The only thought that he could process was, "Holy crap…"


	2. Chapter 2

Hello again, peoples. Sry about the wait, even though nobody is reading this anyway

Disclaimer: I do not own original characters. I only own plot and OC.

Optimus stepped out of the pod, only to trip himself and land flat on his face. His pain receptors shot up, and his sight was fuzzy. What the hell, he thought, as he looked at his feet (because they looked clothed while Cybertronians, they have transformed with clothes on. You stupid perverts).

As he regained his sight, he tried to stand up, avoiding a table to support him. When he accidentally landed on it, he expected for the table to crush under his weight. When it didn't, he immediately face palmed himself for his stupidity. Of course I wouldn't crush the table, he lectured himself, pulling himself up. I am much smaller than I was, so it would be obvious that I would weigh less, too.

As he finally regained his balanced, he saw a little boy, wearing a yellow shirt with a black stripe running down the left side of the shirt. He was also wearing black pants and tennis shoes. He was staring in awe at his feet, and then looked up at Optimus.

"Optimus? Is that you?"

It took a while to register that the little boy was Bumblebee. He looked around fourteen

in human years, and he had short, brown hair. Bumblebee smiled hugely, "Wow, this is so weird. I tried activating my robot mode and all I got was a processor-ache."

Optimus smiled back, and looked around. He got one heck of a shock when he saw the pods that originally held them. Damn, they were HUGE! And to think that the Autobots used to wonder why the humans looked up at us in fear. 'I hope Ratchet isn't in a bad mood. I wonder what he looks like, anyway'.

He then turned around to face Prof. Sumdac, who was almost equal to his height. Then, out of nowhere, he flashed out a light bulb, and put it near his optics. Naturally, Optimus recoiled at the light and nearly hit it out of Sumdac's hands. Sumdac raised an eyebrow in humor, "It seems that the response is normal, Prime. But was it really necessary to almost break a 70 dollar piece of machinery?"

Optimus blushed, "Sorry, it just….hurt."

"AWESOME! I never knew that we were that big. OPTIMUS! DID YOU KNOW-"

Ironhide was out of his mind, and looked kind of cool, too. He was wearing a biker's leather jacket, along with jeans and black boots. He was also wearing shades, which puzzled Optimus, because he never remembered Ironhide having that feature. He was now fussing over his shades, trying to figure out where they went. Optimus then heard a gruff voice, which was loud and obviously complaining.

"Ironhide, shut up, will you? I can barely register where we are, much less what the heck I am wearing." Ratchet came into view, wearing a red and yellow polo shirt, black pants and loafers. He was also wearing some sort of hat on his head. It read, 'U.S MILITARY AND NAVY VETERAN' Optimus made a smile. This obviously showed what he was capable of. Whatever Decepticon we face today better be in for a shock.

I smiled. Today was rather sunny, not to mention cloudless. If there

were a day perfect for taking over the world, then this would be it.

My necklace had 10 minutes before accessing my old modes. It was lunch and I was with my two humans, Angela and Rachel. They were talking to each other, while I just sat back, unable to resist imagining what their bodies will look like when burned to a crisp and sliced open. A bit grotesque, I know, but I hated them, so why not?

"Eliza? Are you okay? You are making that face again."

I immediately frowned and laughed shortly, "Oh, don't worry. I am only thinking about our meeting after school. I simply cannot wait for it."

Angela picked up her half-eaten sandwich and chewed thoughtfully, "You know, you seem rather happy today. You've been like that for the last two weeks. Are you sure that everything is all right?"

Rachel instantly played pitiful, and gave me her grapes. "Here, will these make you feel better? I know that you love grapes."

I raised an eyebrow, while looking at the rest of her lunch. "To be honest Rachel, I am more concerned over your overall health than those grapes. If you let me take those, then all you would have left would be cheetos, a Gatorade, and some Oreos."

She blushed slightly, only to shove the grapes in my hands and yell "NO TRADEBACKS!" I sighed; these stupid adolescents even have their own structure of possession by force. How primitive.

Angela turned her vision to Rachel, "You know, she's right. You can't just hand over what you don't want and eat all that sugary goodness. It's unnatural."

Rachel suddenly stood up, and I knew what was coming before it even came out of her mouth. "Fine, then! You go on ahead and say I have a problem! It's called hormones, and if you have a problem with it, go ahead and kill yourselves!" Then she dramatically stood up, gathered her stuff and ran away. I gave Angela a look, and she shrugged.

"Well, make that the third time that she ran off like that. Doesn't she have other friends?"

I responded, "Her religion refrains me from doing most of my natural instincts. I cannot swear, eat before her, or even use slang like wazzup, or even I LUV GOD."

I put my head in my hands in a perfect facepalm. "When will she understand that I am Atheist? I cannot and WILL NOT bow down to her religion in order to be her friend. I don't like Christianity."

Angela coughed, "I AM CHRISTIAN. Does this mean you hate me, too?"

I smiled. This was the only human I could live with, probably because of her hate of high expectations and rules. I may hate her, but sometimes, she can be very agreeable.

"Ah, yes. I have something for you," I teased. I shook my lunchbox to let her hear the rustling inside it. Her mental ears perked up.

"Hmmmm….sounds like plastic. Not vacuum-sealed. Contains loose contents, almost chip-like," her eyes went wide, and a small smile played on her lips. Her head followed the movement of the bag, and then I decided to give it to her. I pulled out a jumbo-sized bag of turkey jerky, original flavor. She started to whimper, which was a sign that she wanted it. BADLY. I then tossed her the bag and watched her attack it.

"YES! ORIGINAL FLAVOR! THANKIES!" Then she tackled me, and I had to do a barrel roll to get her off of me. I never figured out why people are so attached to food. Especially processed, chemical-filled food. And they wondered why I bought the most expensive lunch stuff in town. The chemicals could fry my circuitry.

I heard the bell ring, and I suddenly felt a shove. Rachel had pretended to be mean by shoving me so I'd spin around like a top. I then felt a buzz coming from my head, and I passed out.

I woke up on the ground, and I was alone. I winced at my injuries, and realized that I have had another spasm. AGAIN.

Ever since my first encounter of violent feelings as an adolescent, I have grown to have a habit whenever my emotions go over the brink. My body does an automatic system reboot, and does a complete shutdown in order to make the process easier. Doing it while still awake makes my body do suspicious movements. If you call jerky movements and blank stares suspicious.

Another thing; I have told the school board this, so they simply tell others not to step on me when this happens. Like that works; I still come to sometimes with gum plastered onto my face because it came from someone's shoe. Stupid.

When I got to my feet, I heard the Lockdown bell sound. I panicked, and looked for an access point, only to find that they even locked the bathrooms. Great. I turned around and saw that seven people were in the perimeter. I stiffened when one of then glanced at me; I then got a message from Megatron.

"Excuse me miss, but why are you out of your classroom?" asked a butt-ugly man, who seemed to eyeball me with suspicion. I returned his question with a not-so-snappy comeback.

"Here's a question for you; why are you here? Are you the people who triggered the lockdown?"

Then I saw a fifteen-year-old boy staring at my necklace. He was wearing a yellow and black t-shirt, black khakis, and black runners shoes. I looked at him, and one thing ran through my mind: these people need to get a sense of clothing. They look like they just came out of a disco party. I walked up to the butt-ugly dude and flashed him a glare. "If you think that I am going to just obey whatever you say, then the party's over." I looked at the boy and flashed him a smile. "You look like a bumblebee….Bumblebee."

The boy stuttered, and then kept his ground. I laughed, and decided to play with them some more. "I thought you looked funny. These adolescents barely dress like that, sooooo…yeah." I stared at the Navy Veteran, "You may not know who I am, but I know you. You think that simply taking my codes would be that easy? I can FEEL you, you know. I am a Xeno, after all. I was sent here by Megatron thirteen years ago to find the Cube. With no success, I came here. And now, lets see how you fight when you are humans." I pressed my necklace, which immediately started to become bigger, going across my body, flipping my human skin for metal plating. I smiled as I saw the looks on their faces. A worried thought ran across my mind; maybe they aren't the Autobots. Did I just give away my position for nothing?"

That worry was extinguished when the ugly dude called on his cell phone, freaking out like a cornered rat, yelling, "GOOD GOD! WE NEED SECTOR 7! GET SWAT TEAM HERE NOW!"

Meh. I figured.

Sry again it took so long. I blame cookies. Tasty, sugary cookies.

Please review!


	3. Chapter 3

WAAAZZUP! When I finish this chapter, I am going to close the poll 5 days after publishing on my OC's love interest and have a result. Whoever is reading this, please vote. I am new, and I just wish that my wish is granted.

Disclaimer: Do I have to say it every time? Fine. I do not own transformers. Only OC and somewhat plot.

Before we start, I would like to give a shout out to my friends:

warriorkat21 I hope that u are reading this. Tell me what you think and vote.

blueandblack-fangirl: I kno that you don't like transformers, but again, tell me what you think! Sry if I spell your pen name wrong.

I riveted my shoulders, happy to once again be in my original form. I blinked my optics and tested my eyesight, delighted to find that my motor functions were in working order. I heard a strangled gasp from the now puny humans below, and turned my head to see their reaction. The five Autohumans were just staring up at me, while the true humans were calling frantically to their little defense group. I threw my head back and looked up at the sky. I then looked down at the puny humans.

"Well, since I caught you off-guard, lets have a little fun, shall we?" I activated my weaponry, and chose my general weapon, a plasma flamethrower. I aimed it at them and started shooting. They immediately scattered like ants, and I allowed myself a Cheshire cat smile. This should be fun.

The now-huge femme loaded the cannon and aimed it at us. I immediately registered it to be a flamethrower, plasma-based. I ran in the first direction I saw: the bathroom. The boy's bathroom was covered with dried lumps of toilet paper, even on the ceiling. I panted, looking at the femme. She was around fifty-five feet tall, and was pretty evil looking, when it came to Decepticons. She had a pointed face, and ruby eyes. She had what looked like an aviator helmet (the one's with the goggles), which was a deep, moody purple. The specs were black, but were obviously not for show. She appeared to have armor-upgrades, because she looked like she was wearing knee-high boots, along with elbow-length gloves, with the fingers cut off. Her breastplate was purple, with a black diamond in the middle. She had two rods attached to her back, but I didn't know what those were for. I looked at the time mechanism Dr. Sumdac gave us. Ten minutes. Dammit. I yelled at Optimus, hoping to get his attention. He glanced at me, but ended up nearly getting shot. I cursed, and then saw Ratchet climbing up a tree. Now THAT'S something you don't see every day. A constantly complaining robot veteran finding the time and energy to climb a 50-foot tree. I allowed myself a quick smile, only to let it drop when I saw Bumblebee get picked up. A wave of rage went through me. Oh no, you don't, I thought, storming up to the femme; you can pick up any other robot, but you. Do. Not. Touch. The. Kid.

I felt a whooshing sound, and before I knew it, I was being picked up. Now I see what Sam felt when I picked him up without warning, I thought. A sad feeling stabbed at my processor. He was still in college. He can't help us now. I miss him. And the badass girlfriend he had. She was fun. And scary. Not to mention really bossy, too.

I met eyes with the femme, and all I felt was fear. Cold, ruthless, painful fear. I couldn't look away, yet my mind screamed for relief. She scanned me, and smiled when she was finished.

"Awwww…the widdle scout-bot misses his owner. Don't worry; as soon as I find the Cube, you will see your owner again…in the Well of Allsparks," she grinned. A cold dread, as well as a rising wave of panic, started to build. I spotted Ironhide storming out of the boys' bathroom, and so did the femme. She glanced at him, simply ignoring him for the time being. But then Ironhide pulled something out of his pocket and showed it to her. Her smile froze, and she nearly dropped me. I saw what it was, and my mind began to relax.

::Time completed. Modes unlocked::

I dropped the boy as I saw the intercom say the dreaded message. Then, a whole replay of my transformation started on those five, ending up with the Autobots, armed and ready for battle. I snarled, and activated my laser arrow. The set contained a metal bow, with an intricate design of a phoenix trailing down the side. I pulled back the string, and immediately it formed a laser arrow, able to penetrate any armor. I shot at all of them, but they were to fast. The yellow one tripped me, while in turn I kicked his head. I then launched into the black one and was on top of him in a pinned pose. I was about to kill him when I felt a sharp pain, then I drifted off into blackness, the scared face of the black one etched into my mind's eye.

Ratchet had climbed the tree for as reason: to get a good viewpoint. When the femme was about to kill Ironhide, He hit her in the back with his thyroid blaster. He usually used this to put patients to sleep, or as a slight painkiller. He dialed it full blast and hit her straight on. Once he got out of the tree, he received a comforting pat on the back from Optimus.

"That was a brave thing you did. Thank you for saving Ironhide."

"Your welcome, Optimus, but we have more things to worry about, like how the hell we are going to get her back to base. I mean, she's almost the same size as Bumblebee!"

Almost as if on cue, Ironhide hooked up to her databanks, and in a few short minutes, they had a purple and black Audi convertible, and loaded it up into Optimus Prime's trailer. At least she's offline, he thought. Otherwise she would kick our afts to Cybertron and back. Bumblebee was being checked by Ratchet, much to his annoyance.

"DUDE! For the last time, I'm fine! All she did was pick me up! Chill out, please!"

After much arguing, Ironhide and Ratchet finally let Bumblebee alone, but when Ratchet was away from Bumblebee, he com-ed Optimus, in a low-key message.

::I know that Bumblebee might be telling the truth, but I still would like to check his systems. May I test his database while in recharge? I must ask your permission, since this might be, ah, 'intrusive' on him::

I nodded, looking at the scout-bot. He was mumbling to himself while checking out the damage that was done. The human teenagers are not going to like this.

They started to get ready to roll out, but little did they know, that they had a trespasser on board. And she had a lot of questions.

Angela's POV

I snuck into the robot's car as fast as I could. Thank God for cam-foil.

This was an accident, but proved useful in many ways. My older brother was experimenting on mercury and gold particles, when he accidentally merged some atoms. The resulting explosion nearly blew up our basement, which was also where our popcorn stash was hidden. It took about four weeks to eat all the popcorn. It didn't even taste that good.

When all the popcorn was gone, we found a thin sheet of foil-like metal, and instantly, we tried to see what it could do. It turns out, the amazing foil could mask any temperature up to four thousand degrees. He then made it more stable by putting a wire mesh inside it and making the chemicals non-reactive. Boom. Cam-foil.

I always bring stuff to school, like needles (you never know when that could come in handy), some wax, a whetstone, and so on. I have been bringing the cam-foil to school for some time now, and it has proven pretty useful. It also has a mirror-like effect, which is perfect if you need to hide it places like bushes, or in trees.

When in the car (I noted the interior. Purple. What car on Earth would ever have purple interior?), I slipped the cam-foil over my head. Not a second too soon. I felt a hot laser in scan the car, and held my breath when it scanned the material. I already knew that the foil would mask my breath, but you couldn't blame myself for being nervous. I then felt the truck moving, and I then knew that we were in the go. I rested my head on the dashboard and took a nap. When I woke up, I used my Superscope (I am not going to tell you how my brother managed this one. He had acid burns on his skin and hair for a month) to get a peek outside. My mouth dropped. The terrain looked nothing like Redlands. It was desert, of course, but this was the dry-as-health-food-store-crackers desert. Nothing grew, and it every direction I looked in, I never saw anything but tumbleweeds and the occasional cacti. In my little cam-foil tent, I accessed the GPS unit on my cell phone (upgrades….I would be dead without them) and nearly got a shock. We were in Illinois. ILLINOIS. How we got from California to Illinois is completely beyond me, but right now, that was the least of my problems. We were slowing down. And turning. I figured out the second part because I crashed into the side of the car door, almost throwing me out and blowing my cover. So much for seatbelts.

I started to hear voices, meaning that we were going slow enough for the voices to legible. Not to mention understandable.

"Yeah, come on into the base. We have information all ready for you. What? Yes, we also got her to make a shutdown. Thanks to the CMO, anyway."

My mind was bursting with questions. What base? Who was this 'her'? And what in the name of peanut butter was a CMO? I had to bite my tongue to stop myself from asking out loud, because I then saw a beam of light come through. I hid in the backseat when the car started moving. I froze, unable to let myself make any movement. If I did, then they would find me, and I would be sent back home.

I allowed myself a peek. No one in the driver's seat. A midget(1)? Nah, the dash was too high. Only one possible suggestion: the car was driving itself. I nearly freaked out at this concept, but hey, if you watched a supreme droid sumo-match between giganto, utterly advanced robots, why wouldn't you?

I felt the car stop, and I looked outside (thank you, Oh Lord of one-way windows!), or rather, inside. We were in a huge warehouse, which was full of bustling people. The other robots (Screw this, I'm calling them mechs) were humanoid now, and walking around the car I was in. As soon as I saw them leave, I climbed out of the car. I found myself in a huge room, with solid walls. It was easy to get out (based on the info I had, I was in a safe. I picked the lock((I am not going to tell you how I managed it)) and crawled out) and immediately found myself in a corridor, with one door vacuum-sealed. Because of my oh-so-stupid curiosity, before I knew what I was doing, I was trying to pick the vacuum-door. I heard footsteps, and just before two fat guys eating doughnuts passed the door, I got in, closing it on myself. I turned around…only to find the greatest, most epic thing I have ever seen…a giant Rubix cube.

Tell me what you think, PLZ. And please vote, too. Only one person has voted, and there is only five days left after I publish this. It would mean a lot to me.

(1): I have nothing against midgets, of course. This is just how my friends mind works. Hope that clears some things for you.

ALL HAIL THE GIANT TALKING JALEPENO!


	4. Chapter 4

Heeeeeyyyyyyy, all you sacks of awesomeness. I am rolling out the chapters now, so the poll is resolved now. ONE PERSON HAS VOTED. WHYYYYY?

Enjoy!

Angela's POV

I gaped at the giant cube. It wasn't really that big, but still, bigger than your average Rubix cube. It was as big as my head, and rather bumpy. I was surprised to find that no one was working in the room at the time, so I walked up to the cube. The bumps were actually inscriptions, carvings of circles and weird glyphs, similar to Japanese, but curvier, like Korean. I traced the symbols, trying to remember if any Vietnamese characters were close to these. I unlocked the glass box, and touched one of the corners.

I felt a sharp stab of pain. I drew back to find that I had pricked my finger. Before I could bind it, a single drop of blood fell on the floor. Almost instantly after, a ripple of blue electricity formed circles, and crawled across the floor to other machinery in the room. When the electricity had been absorbed, it shot back to where it was forming circles around me. Before I could register what I was doing, I had created a miniature lightning hurricane, where a vortex of blue electricity was spinning around me. Strangely, nothing else in the room was being disturbed, like this was not creating wind, or even clouds. The air became heavy with the smell of ozone and static. I was also levitating, but I did not notice this because I was distracted by a face that had formed in the lightning. The face was horrid, not to mention fugly to look at, but I also felt something else. The face was evil looking, as if it were made to kill, even if it could kill with its face. Yep, it was that ugly. The face tried to smile (GOD DAMN, THAT GUY IS SO FUGLY!) and whispered:

"They are coming. Choose or die"

Right then, I blacked out.

Bumblebee's POV

The alarm rang. Someone had broken in. I sighed as I got off the Med bay, thankful that Ratchet wasn't there to watch me. He would have kicked my aft in order to keep me on there. And no way was Bee ever going to miss out on any kind of action.

I walked to the main room, where groups of people were crowded around the Audi. Man, she scared me. Something about her just made me want to hide until it was all over, that she should just DIE. They were taking notes, poking it with lightning rods, and taking even more notes. That was when William Lennox stormed in.

He had about five people with him, all struggling to hold something. My spark leaped when I saw that it was a little girl, around 13 years old. She was tripping, because the people who were holding her were trying to make her walk. Problem was, they were around 7 feet tall, meaning that she was lifted a few inches off the ground every time someone yanked her straight. She was then shoved to the ground, and an officer put his boot on her head. I could just hear her thoughts: DAMN! SUCH A DIRTY SHOE!

But apparently, the girl was smart. They had bound her up in cords, but she seemed unnaturally buff. Then I realized that she was holding her breath. The second the officer's back was turned, she exhaled, and the cords came loose. As quick as a viper, she punched the small of the officer's back, leaving him paralyzed temporarily. The others noticed the noise, but reacted too late. The girl moved so fast that it seemed as if she wasn't human. She kicked two in the head with a roundhouse kick, and punched a guy in the nose. The fourth one got a nasty kick to the shin, which nearly knocked him clear off his feet. She turned to the last one, but this guy was more experienced. He dodged all of her kicks, but could not manage to land any himself. Finally, the girl jumped and hit his main artery, causing instant knockout. She landed on her feet, and drew two samurai swords; black blade, with a blue wave pattern spiraling down to the hilt. She held them in front of her, walking backwards in a circle as more people surrounded her. Galloway (If I have spelled his name wrong, then good for me. If not, then he is still a whiny bastard) strolled in, never taking his eyes away from the girl. I stood still, wanting to intrude, but standing back, knowing that it wasn't my fight.

Well, who do we have here," he said, lifting the girls head by pulling her hair back. She glared at him with such hate that I could have sworn that she was a Decepticon herself. Thankfully for us, she was probably a hundred percent human. Probably.

The human girl narrowed her eyes at Galloway, and said, "I am an unstable adolescent who has to deal with fugly dickheads like you. And if you don't let go of my hair right now, I am going to go from annoying teen to YOUR WORST NIGHTMARE. You saw what I did to your officers, think about what I could do to you if you, I don't know, PISS ME OFF!"

More than a couple of eyebrows were raised at this comment. Epps was trying not to laugh, and Lennox was completely trying not to lose it. Galloway's face had become red with rage, which was hard to look at, since he was nearly always red. Suddenly, the girl's hair did a crazy thing; a big strand of it stood up and pointed in the direction of Galloway. He looked at it in wonder, while the girl tried not to laugh.

"Miss…what is your hair doing?" he asked, after finally letting the girl go. She was covering her hands in her mouth, to suppress her laughter. "This, my oh-so-ugly friend, is my awesome secret weapon. You see, I am the only one in my family to have this magnificent power, and right now it is proving to be useful." She looked up at him and said, in the most taunting way possible, "I call it my GAYDAR."

"Galloway did a double take, "Gaydar? What kind of a name is that?"

The girl effectively sighed, putting her hands together and looking up at the ceiling, "Oh God, please give this man more brains, because apparently he cannot realize the true power of my awesome GAYDAR." She giggled, spinning around to look at Galloway in the eye. "You see, GAYDAR is not an acronym, but a combination of two words: GAY and RADAR."

I heard a sudden laugh, and I turned around to Ironhide completely losing his cool. Even Optimus was using his mouthplate to stop himself from smiling. This was by far the only human to completely humiliate Galloway in front of everyone. I liked the small human already. I turned back at Galloway, only to find him pulling out a knife and trying to stab the girl in rage.

It took a while to separate the two, even when Ratchet drugged the girl. Galloway was carried off, screaming and yelling for revenge. I smiled in triumph to finally see him shut up and bow down to a little girl.

"Carry her to the ER," said Lennox, giving an approving look at the girl, who was sleeping peacefully on the little cot. "And if she wakes up, walk her to the main lab…unbounded." I smiled at the sudden urge to let the human be free; who knew that such a small human could be so awesome? As I watched the little girl be wheeled away in that little cot, I heard a little beeping sound in my head; the signal that someone was trying to COM me. I opened up my frequencies to find that Optimus was trying to reach me.

Optimus look ashamed, almost sad, as I walked over. "I regret laughing at the girl's remarks," he explained, "respect is needed right now, and laughing at a superior officer was not a good choice on my part."

Ironhide, after recovering from his little fit, joined the group and patted Optimus on the shoulder. "Ah, don't worry about it, no one likes Galloway anyway. You shouldn't be ashamed of your own opinions if they mean that much to you."

I turned to Optimus, the original curiosity building up again. "Optimus, about your COM…what did you need me for again?"

Optimus looked at him in confusion for a millisecond, and then gathered his senses. "Right, the com. The girl's files were brought up on the mainstream. The girl belongs to a family from Vietnam, but moved all the way to Redlands."

Ironhide raised his eyebrows is suggestion, "What if she hitched a ride with us after the fight? It does seem possible, because we delayed ten minutes for docking time. The girl could have walked out of the school, jumped on the ramp, and could have stayed in the Decepticon's vehicle."

I nodded to Ironhides idea; if that is what happened, then it all made sense. Only one question remained, what did the girl have to do with this?

As if he read my mind, Optimus looked at me reproachfully and said, "Now Bumblebee, since the girl is going to be here for a while, I am going to ask you to be her guardian for the time being. If you don't want to, that is fine. We just don't want to give her a padded cell or human guardians, since she could easily overpower those."

I thought about this offer; what if I agreed? I am the smallest, not to mention the youngest, but what would I do when we fight? Granted, she is a good fighter, but even this girl would be totally useless on the battlefield. Unless…

I turned to Ironhide, who was checking his com-messages. What if Ironhide could be her guardian? They are nearly alike, both a lover of weapons, both know battle strategies, and maybe he could even make a couple weapons for her with Que. Yeah…

I took a deep breath and smiled at Optimus. "It sounds fun and all, but I was thinking that Ironhide fits her more than me. Maybe Ironhide could, I don't know, be her guardian?"

Ironhide looked up with such a look of surprise that my sensors went off.

"Erm….why?"

"Because I already have Sam, plus she acts more like you than anyone else."

"Oh, so your saying that I am unstable and a trigger-happy freak?"

"No, I am saying that you are the perfect guardian for a weapon lover like her. Look, I already told you, I already have Sam."

"You don't have to worry about Sam, he's at college! Plus, he is older and more mature than an adolecent! What if I have trouble with her? Can I vaporize her or something? PLEASE?"

Optimus rubbed his temple, looking like he had to take a side. "Well, Bumblebee does have a point, so how about this. Ironhide, you can try to teach her for three days. If you don't like her, then we can send her home. If you do, then you can become her guardian. Is that fair enough for you two?"

Ironhide looked like he was about to explode, but Optimus had him trapped in a corner. "Fine," he huffed, "but if she whines, I will squish her." He then walked away, acting like he was a toddler with a tantrum. I smiled in triumph as I watched him, finally turning to Optimus.

"Um, is he really going to squish that girl if she gets on his bad side?" I asked, looking up at Optimus. He shrugged, "If he tries, than he will probably get a wire cut because of her swords. Let's just hope for the best."

I looked outside at the blue sky, wondering if Optimus was either joking or not. Either way, I hoped the girl could live with the annoying trigger-happy friend that I know in battle.

Once again, VERY SORRY FOR THE DELAY. My mind went blank a few months ago, so I couldn't write. Hey, at least I didn't get you all excited only to let you down with a sorry-but-I-have-writer's-block-and-cannot-write-anymore note. Tomorrow is Thanksgiving, so I will give you a little thing to do. Once you read this, go and review me for what you are thankful for. I will make up what I had lost over the few months that I had goofed off. At least this is a long chapter, so please send me a review and tell me what you think. THE PHILOSOPHY ZOMBIE IS GOIN TO EAT MAH SMARTS! HELP ME!


	5. Chapter 5

Once again, I am sorry for the wait. I originally had the plot written out, but then my friend made a deal with me on character placements. So now, the plot is going to be a little different from what I expected it to be. AKA, I am completely making up whatever I am writing for now on. I hate plans.

Enjoyz!

Angela's POV

"No…..NO! I am the chosen one! I have to be! Who else will rule the land of syrup and pumpkin pie flavored ice cream? WHO will-"

Suddenly, I felt a little dizzy. I seemed to fall and rise at the same time, slowly regaining my bearings. I opened my eyes to meet the sight of…an empty room. I rubbed my eyes, once again reminding myself never to watch Science Theater 2000 before bed. Stupid dreams. I tried to sit up, only to feel a sharp pop in my ears. I was being pressurized for any blocked arteries, I realized. The only way for the pressure to get out is through the ears, when the eardrum's pores open to release messages to the brain. I tried to sit up again, meeting success this time. I was in a hospital room, filled with medical instruments and monitors. As I blinked away the rest of the morning tiredness from my eyes, I heard a slight beeping sound. A man in a white suit walked in and checked the monitors, barely taking the time to look at me. Finally, he stepped back and observed the equipment, sighing as he grabbed a clipboard from the wall.

"Day six, no change in blood pressure, though the heart rate of the female has gone up eight beats. Reaction time is ideal, as is the glucose and red blood cell count in her vessels. However…"

"However what?"

He jumped at the sound of my voice, dropping his clipboard and spinning around to look at me. The look on his face slowly lost its look of surprise as the man calmed down.

"Might I remind you NEVER TO DO THAT AGAIN. You nearly gave me a heart attack, and I have to take supplements for that too." I smiled at this comment; at least the guy had a sense of humor. He introduced himself as Doctor Huston, who was to take care of me over the next couple of days. Apparently, I had been in this room for six days, doing nothing but sleeping and dreaming. He helped me up and helped me walk a couple of paces to relieve me of the tiredness in my legs. After being given some fresh clothes (a brown T-shirt and khakis with the army logo on it), I was escorted around the facility. Huston explained that I was in the hospital wing, and that if I wanted, I could be brought back home in a matter of days. He was showing me the surgery room when his cell phone went off, playing the Gummy Bear song as the ringtone. "I give a different song to each person," he explained, blushing as he put it on silent, "if you think that's funny, you should hear what ringtone I have for my boss."

He opened the phone and answered the call:

"Hello, this is Dr. Huston. Yes, I am the doctor in charge of the girl. Why? You want me to bring her? Of course, but will this be explained at the meeting? All right then, I will be there ETA five minutes. Okay, goodbye." He severed the connection, looking at me in confusion. "Our top board member wants you at the meeting that they are holding. Have you done anything?"

I shook my head, though my brain was already filled with possibilities. Maybe my parents have called and they want me home? Or maybe they were still debating over what happened six days ago. I jogged behind Dr. Huston, who was walking faster than anything I had ever seen. In less than five minutes, we were standing in front of a big door with the American Crest at the head. The eyes of many other people, who were all wearing the same exact face, met us: bored, unfocused, and rough. A huge guy pointed to a seat, gesturing that I sat in there. I was about to crack a joke about how Santa would hate this place when a guy stood up. I grimaced. Galloway. That bastard lived through that little episode, and was chosen to lead the board meeting. He shot me a nasty look, as if I smelled as bad as he did. I shot back a little teasing smile, which seemed to make him explode from the inside. From anyone else's perspective, it looked like he suddenly pooped in his pants. Ah, reactions; I love them.

The doctor seemed to see the conflicting looks we were giving each other, because he put his hand on my shoulder and shook it a little. As he left for other business, Galloway stood up to the podium and cleared his throat. Oh great, I thought, a supremely long, boring, one-faced speech. I was going to enjoy this.

" Staff of the Army Legislature," he started, his voice hard and cold, "we have recently found new information concerning Sector 7. Seven days ago, a Decepticon was attacking a school, under the disguise of a human girl. We don't know how it acquired a power like this, but we now realize that when there's one, there may be more. Even now, tens, hundreds, or maybe thousands of Decepticons may be disguised as humans at this very moment. One might be in this very room…"

I groaned. He thought I was a Decepticon in disguise, which probably explained my fighting techniques. This thought pissed me off immensely. How could he believe that all I worked hard for was simple as programming in a computer? That ungrateful, ignorant little bastard. Damn him!

"Anyway, the Court decided to keep this girl here, since there are no records of here existence. However." He turned to me, with a grim look on his face. "It seems that you have a connection with the Decepticon. Can you possibly reason with it? Maybe you can persuade it to go back."

Wait. What? What just happened? I let my own thoughts go for five minutes and I have to reason with a fifty-foot robot? My mouth seemed to agree "Sorry, but no comprende. Were you blind at the fight? It seemed pretty clear to me that it hates all of mankind and…em…what are the other robot's names again?"

A guy piped up. "Autobots, miss. They are called Autobots."

I bowed my head slightly towards him. "Thank you. Now, where was I? Oh yes, it seems to hate all of mankind and all of Autobot-kind. So, Mr. I-send-a-kid-into-a-room-with-a-death-bringing-robot, how can you possibly expect ME to reason with it?"

I was proud to hear a couple of murmurs among the crowd, even if they were only a few. Galloway seemed stumped, and was about to dish out some lame answer when his walkie-talkie went off. He answered it, listening intently to every word. After five minutes, he nodded his head and mumbled "Understood" before sighing and putting it back on his belt.

"Well kid, you're in luck today. Not only are you going in there, but you are going to have a buddy with you. One of the Autobots is going to accompany you there, and by the sound of the situation, I think you're in for one heck of a ride, kid."

For some reason, those simple words made me swallow. What did he mean, situation?

After the meeting had finished, the doctor came to pick me up. As we started walking, we suddenly changed directions, going down instead of up. I could feel the slope of the ground as I stumbled after the doctor. When we finally got to a busy hallway, I noticed a air-lock door. This was the same floor as the giant Rubix Cube! I was about to ask the doctor about it when we suddenly stopped in front of a door. It had numerous locks on it, half of them I didn't even know existed. First, he did the normal locks. An eye-scan, a fingerprint scan, and a weight scan were the first three. There were three more, all funny shaped. The fourth one looked like a keyboard, but had weird characters on it instead of the English alphabet. Wait a minute…these were the exact same characters on the Cube, too! As the doctor finished typing something in, the fourth lock lit up green. The fifth lock seemed almost as alien as the last, showing a holographic image of…a face? No, two faces! He selected a red face, which looked blockier and less threatening. The last lock seemed to vibrate, and before the last lock opened, spoke.

"Which came first, peace or war?"

The doctor knelt down and spoke, clearly and firmly, "Life itself"

The door opened, sliding smoothly on its perfectly balanced hinges. Inside was the most mind-boggling sight I ever saw. The very first thing I noticed was the robots. They were effing HUGE! I mean, was Japan bored or something? And they were walking around, almost as if they were alive. One of them seemed to notice me, and started walking towards me. The only thoughts that were going through my mind?

"OH crap why is he walking towards me crap CRAPCRAPCRAP CRRRAAAAPPPPP!

I must have lost track of time because he was already kneeling down to look at me properly. His face seemed humanoid, but the eyes put me off. His iris's were made of sheets of solid plasma, which glowed a solid, neon blue. It looked tired, yet dignified. His armor plating (I hoped that was what it was, anyway…) was red with a blue flame pattern, which made him easily look like a semi-truck wanted to be human. After a couple minutes, he smiled at me.

"Well, child. I can clearly see that you have been through a lot. Sneaking into a military base is hard work, isn't it?"

I was about to say "It sure as hell was! Did you see the fight?" before I shut my mouth just in time. He chuckled at my hesitation and started to get up. Suddenly, his expression changed, and he started looking at me weird. I thought he was using x-ray vision on me when he suddenly stopped and called over another robot. Great. One robot to worry about isn't enough, and now another one is running over. This one looked more elderly than the first one, and seemed to be a little grumpy. He looked like an ambulance truck disassembled and put back together to resemble a human. He did the same look at me, like the semi robot did. Finally, he stood up and looked at the first robot.

"It appears that this human is radiating some sort of power. It's close to the Cube's power, but it seems more…resourceful. As if the human itself is it's own power source. Should I report this?"

The bigger robot waved it aside. "I don't think it will be a problem. Human,"

He suddenly said, snapping me to attention, "walk this way please."

As I followed the giant robot, he asked me for a name. I thought about giving him a fake name, but I sometimes forget whom I am supposed to be if I do that for too long. "My name is Angela, what's yours?" He seemed to do a double take, slowly answering with "I am Optimus Prime, leader of the Autobots. I am sorry for my reaction, but it doesn't seem like a fitting name for you." I nodded, looking up at him with understanding eyes.

"You have no idea."

So yah, not much in this one. I kinda lost interest after looking into schoolwork and other things. Soon though, I SHALL HAVE A NEW STORY! ALL WILL HAIL MY-

Uhh…Emma? Your turning into a Le Gusta Starscream. Calm down.

FINE! DO WHATEVER!

SEE YOU NEXT TIMEZ!


	6. Chapter 6

Okay. Now that it is summer, I better have no excuses for this one. Enjoy.

Elizabeth's POV

I was under a giant oak tree, the sun's rays creating a kaleidoscopic effect on the lush green grass. The sun was just wavering over the trees, and the small pond was reflecting the last of the sun's everlasting light. I closed my eyes as I smelled the wildflowers growing in a never-ending carpet leading to the end of the world. This, truly, was my place of zen. No amount of video games or simulated TV screens would ever amount to this. A bunch of LEDs strung together would not simulate the feeling of peace that overcame my head as I drew every breath. This was how I felt when I came to Earth. Away from any war, any disagreements, any violence at all. I wished that it would be like this forever.

I looked up to find another one, looking at me. She had a defined feminine face and features, but had numerous battle scars all over her. Even one of her eyes' was scratched out. Even so, she looked at me with, not a face of pain, but a face of determination. I stood up, bowing ever so slightly in her presence.

"I am glad to see you again, Firestorm. How many moons has it been since we have seen each other?"

She smiled at my greeting, and held a hand out in warm welcome. I took it, standing with immeasurable ease as we began our walk.

"You have gained a new emotion to worry about, haven't you? To finally have been found…" she eyed me with her deep blue optics. Firestorm, as real as she appeared, was nothing more than a conscience. She resembled my angelic side as Autobot, taking in the blue optics and the familiar insignia on her upper back. Since she is a conscience, she also knew everything about me, from past accidents to current emotions. However, she wasn't the only one.

"Well, here's the boundary."

I stopped at the very edge of an expansive crevice, seeming to cut the whole landscape in half as I followed the crack in the earth. On the other side of this crevice was a world of it's own, a very picturesque version of Hell itself. The landscape was barren, and nothing lived in its soil except for a few wiry trees. Remnants of bodies were littered everywhere, giving the air a deathly feel. I shuddered at the smell, which was mind-bending to say the least. The smell was made up of all the bad feelings, longings, sins, and deeds that existed in the world. Even a whiff would bring the most gory and grotesque pictures to mind, some of which would make even the strongest of minds retreat to the haven of psychopathy. Instead of the warm sun, a thick black bank of clouds looms over the repressive scene. I held my breath as I tried to block out all the images of criminal doings. Robbery, kidnap, murder, anatomic murder, rape, assault. Even Firestorm was getting uncomfortable as we breathed the toxic air.

"As much as I hate to say it, we must do what must be done. Are you ready?"

I breathed deeply as I held her hand in comfort. She squeezed my hand and crouched down to jump. I crouched as well, hoping that I wouldn't be dragged like I sometimes was. She shot forward, as I did a millisecond later. After three seconds of pure fear, we landed on the solid ground of the living Hell. Firestorm seemed to be all right, but her optics were dimmed as she strayed away from her home. She pulled me forward, keeping her head down and walking faster than usual. Why wouldn't she? To her, this place was her nightmare. A real, living nightmare that haunted her every time she passed the crevice. In the distance, a church bell started to ring ominously. It rang twelve times, every stroke bringing a new image of death to all my inward senses. I decided that what Firestorm was doing would be best for my mental health, so I imitated her bowed head and speedy walk. Soon, we passed many scenes of insanity. Suicide, done twelve ways, was the one that stayed with me. As we continued our walk, I felt that something was watching us. I glanced to my right, meeting a pair of big, red eyes. The whites were yellow, and many capillaries could be seen. I realized with sudden terror that these things were everywhere. Hiding behind the pitch-black banks of fog, or slithering down a spindly tree. They all had the same red, luminescent eyes. Firestorm, at some point, had withdrawn her plasma pistol and cocked it. She walked even faster, nearly dragging me as I struggled to keep up. I was just about to draw my weapon when we saw the castle.

It was huge, covering enormous amounts of land and surrounded by a huge moat. We got close to the entrance when a small glint alarmed me. I stopped in my tracks, gripping Firestorms hand so hard I cut a gash in my palm. My eyes went huge, and my head, hands, and knees started to shake. Oh God, when will this end? I want to go back, I want to go back, I wannaIwannaIwanna!

"It's okay, it's okay. It's just a Shadow Mime, he won't hurt you."

Shadow Mimes were beings made of purple cloud, and were called so by simply mimicking the event of a near-death experience. He was holding a metal playing card, shiny with freshly drawn blood. He looked at me with invisible eyes, but drew a more-than-visible smile. It reached the very edge of his "face" and stayed there, showing me the card. The ace of spades. How humorous for a near-to-effing-death experience.

We reached the gate to the castle, seemingly unguarded to the naked eye. Firestorm stopped three feet of the door, cautiously scanning for anyone to label as a threat. When none came, she looked up at the door and emitted a surprised squeal.

Three guards had appeared where they shouldn't have, in a time frame almost impossible. The guards were animated corpses, some with circuitry still rotting away from their steel skeleton. Firestorm had reduced her face to an unsurpassing gaze. All three guards were looking down at us with equal intensity. I felt like I was trapped in a small dark corner, with a murderer slowly gaining on me. His weapon battered my mentality just by me looking at it. Its blade…I would soon coat the blade. It gets closer and closer, the merciless smile of the purely insane playing on the murderers face. I shove myself closer into the corner, hoping to melt into the darkness as many could. I close my eyes, waiting for the ruthless blade to claw my life to shreds. Small, meaningless shreds. I wait to die.

I welcome it.

I snap back to reality rather violently, twitching so suddenly Firestorm almost flew in the other direction. I feel my heartbeat slow, my breathing regulate. I slowly regain senses once lost in this version of Hell. Because I remembered where I was and what I was here for. And I would not let one side control the other. Ever.

I slowly lift my head to face one of the soldiers. His half-eaten face was something of a stereotypical zombie, still able to stare at its victim but slow to comprehend. I stare into its eyes, hoping to get a message, even a word across to this fallen one.

"I am here on no invitation. I wish to speak with your leader. Open the doors."

What I said about being slow to comprehend was apparently not what these soldiers were capable of. They instantly drew three identical spears, wielding them with uniformic speed and accuracy. Firestorm barely flinched however, and neither drew her pistol nor showed surrender. She walked up to the nearest soldier, who threatened to spear her through the stomach. To his surprise, she batted away the spear and threw it to the ground. Before he could give anything close to a questioning look, his half eaten body was suddenly thrown into the air. His descent was interrupted by Firestorm, who then had taken the spear and hit him hard to the side. The effect was powerful, sending him careening into the other two guards. The added weight against the doors was enough to destroy the lock. It swung open with ease after the bodies of the unconscious soldiers were removed.

"Well…that was…sudden."

Firestorm stiffened, but then relaxed and sighed. "I was hoping not to perform such violence in this domain. The aura was more powerful than I previously estimated. I am growing weak."

You're not weak. Besides, you didn't kill the guards. You just disarmed them and made an unplanned dogpile out of zombie carcass. I say that was very cleanly executed for someone who doesn't practice."

Firestorm was silent for a few minutes, then snorted contemptly. "Only the scars I had gained during that meaningless war kept me from becoming a veteran drunkard. I preferred to keep practicing rather than enjoy a pint of oil at the local bar. Only the truly lost go that way. Remember this, my good child. You must never lose sight of what is truly right and wrong in this time. Fate is not something to toy with, and you saw how Unicron ended up after he tried."

"Didn't he die because he was fat or something?"

Firestorm smiled, "No, he died be we eventually destroyed him in numbered combat. He was very big, I have to agree. But his size never was a factor in his downfall. He was strong, but he lack speed. He could fire many rounds, but he lacked accuracy. He wanted power, but he only received power because he was intimidating to others. Not because he was a good or resourceful leader."

"Like Optimus? Or Sentinel?"

"Maybe. Sentinel was a smart and strategic leader, but his straightforward goals led to the many deaths of our kind. Optimus is smart, strategic, and has led his army into many successful battles. However, he lacks one thing: to be unemotional in the death of a close comrade. When Sentinel was lost on a raid of the Ark, Optimus repeatedly refused the vacant position because he was afraid of dying the same way. Of dying a death that strategy, smarts, or planning could not have predicted. But eventually he accepted the position. I still remember that fateful day when Optimus was pulled out of the ranks to be badged as the leader. I remember him saying at the graduation ceremony, ' To all who got me here, I will promise you that Primus will look upon you and honor you as he has to me, and name us as the soldiers of a dying race. For now on, only our own person will win this war, and that same person will keep fighting until Megatron's wrath is diminished into the never-ending expanse of stars.'"

Firestorm laid a hand close to her spark, probably checking to see if she was still in the present. I could feel her sadness, her ache that she had known the bot so well, but to then be shoved away as he became more busy with more important things. Far more important than sitting down to a drink with one of his childhood friends. Firestorm had known him, and had been best friends with the bot all the way through recruitment. She envied his straight-A grades, while she struggled in the concepts of medicine and basic defense. She yearned for more. She got more, graduating to beginning fight, then intermediate, then advanced battle techniques. Optimus had gone down the same road, also taking Government and strategy classes. He was the perfect child, while she struggled for attention. She was teased by being called many things. This made her realize the battle not just between Autobots and Decepticons, but also with each other. Once we were enrolled in the war, things got more awry. Every time she killed a Decepticon, she felt like she was slicing up a life that could have been so much more. They could have lived a happier life, maybe seen their wife and children again. The bloodshed…unnecessary. Why did we argue through weapons and battle schemes? Because that was the only way that we knew of.

"We're here."

I looked up in surprise, taking in the gargantuan object of a castle. How many rooms does this person need? A billion and one? We walked through the giant arc, standing as a doorway with no door. Sure, they could enter, but entering without invitation could result in your limp, cold corpse being thrown back outside for the ravens to peck at. Blech.

Firestorm walked through with some hesitancy, and then waited for me to cross. The castle was protected by a giant force field, but it wasn't used to keep people out. It was used to badge people who tried to come in without invite. Those who did suffered excessive vomiting, blurred vision, and eye twitches. If a person came into the castle and suffered all these in front of the soldiers, they would know right away if they came on bad terms. Then they would go through the usual slit-and-flit. I put my finger across, hoping that I would not become a cadaver. Sure enough, I came across safe and sound, Firestorm gripping my shoulder before entering the giant hall.

Pictures of the grotesque neatly lined the walls leading to the throne. I could see trophies made out of fallen warriors, such as helmets, crests, and even a couple weapons here and there. On the ceiling, a giant chandelier made of black crystal levitated, holding it's own little star in the middle. It changed color constantly, going from red to purple, blue to red, and black to white. Firestorm motioned me to look forward, making me look into the optics of the most evil thing on earth.

Nightmare.

She was sitting on a throne carved from Dark Energon, its power flowing freely at her feet. She, too, was covered with numerous battle scars, one tracing from her right wrist to her neck, where it circled and cut deeply. Her face was almost exact to Firestorms, but was more pointed and hawk-like. Her most outstanding feature, however, was two giant swords strapped to her back, made to look like a set of four-set wings. That made her look like a fairy. A freakin' deadly as fuck fairy.

"Visitors? I never remember inviting anyone. Are you girl scouts or something?"

Nightmare scoffed as she strolled towards us, seeming to have all the time in the world. She went up to me and Firestorm, putting a finger under my chin. Firestorm growled and lightly touched her bow in warning.

Nightmare put her hands up. "No need for that, Firestorm. I just want to see who brought me back, that's all." Nightmare, whom made up my bad conscience, never got to see me. Until now, Firestorm and Nightmare had been in an inter-minded war, making my decisions and feeding on my emotions. Just as this happened, Nightmare was banished to the dark part of my mind, which back then was small. But, as time went on, that part grew larger as the dark thoughts of mine expanded. Firestorm almost lost control of her land, but fought back for it. Right now, Firestorm and Nightmare had equal land ownage under a peace treaty. We were here to further negotiate if the treaty were broken.

"So, you came all the way here to talk with me? My, I'm so honored! Would you like to sit in the game room, or do you have the guts to talk in front of my pets?" She motioned to a bunch of Animotons in the corner. They yowled and barked, mouths foaming and chains threatening to break. I swallowed my words of insult for a later time. I didn't want to die, not when we were so close.

"The game room, then? Right this way."

We were led through numerous hallways, of which we passed torture chambers, dining rooms, a private courtyard, and a small outdoor area blocked by a haze of pink. Firestorm looked at me questioningly, the strange room too puzzled her. Nightmare took no notice, opening a door at the end of the hallway.

A gigantic room, full of plush chairs and multicolored light. Potted plants had overgrown, along with some species of poisonous mushrooms and flowers. She sat down in a feathered armchair, fingers interlacing as she waited for us to do the same. I gladly sat down on a velvet stool, while Firestorm stayed standing. As far as she knew, the treaty could be broken at any moment if one of these chairs were rigged.

Before I could make any move, Nightmare pulled out a hexavise.

"Would you like a game of chess? It's my favorite, by far. Who doesn't love a game of war? Of strategy? Of simple battle? Play with me, Firestorm. I would love to see your mind at work."

Chess. The oldest continuing war of it's kind. Firestorm sat down, tenderly touching the back and the seat for certain arrows ready to spear someone. Nightmare quickly set up the game, making her move before Firestorm sat down. The pieces were specially made to look like Cybertronians, the dark red king looking all too familiar. Humorously, the queen was modeled into a cowering Starscream, begging for all the mercy and life he could afford. If he could afford to be such a scrapheap.

"Really, Nightmare? To model the pieces after our enemies and friends? What is the point of that?"

Nightmare waved it away. "Please, dear, I just had these from the corner of my game room. What's so strange about these pieces, however, is that they change for each passing of characters. Let me show you what they looked like in the beginning."

With a swipe of her hand, the pieces started to change shape, until all of the dark red pieces became one, and the army of whites became only fourteen. I am awestruck by the detail from the marble pieces, each wire, plate, and light painstakingly carved to exact scale. Who were they, though? I didn't recognize any of them from logs. Were they important?

Firestorm clenched her jaw, her hand threatening to swipe the pieces off the board. "You have made your point, Nightmare. We are here on business, not so that we can suffer through your antics. We must discuss the treaty."

"The treaty can WAIT, dear. Now, make your move before I make it for you."

Firestorm stared at the board for a few seconds, then moved a pawn. Nightmare then suddenly pounced on that pawn with her knight (the pieces were now changed back) and snickered in satisfaction. This continued, Firestorm losing pieces faster than Nightmare. Suddenly, Nightmare moved her bishop too close to the queen. Firestorm, having lost so many pieces, seemed to lose all patience. Faster than my optics could process, Firestorm cleared out Nightmares soldiers so that only the kings remained. Nightmare, as frustrated she became with losing so many, lifted her head from the hunched position.

"It always ends like this, doesn't it? King against king, fighting it out until the end. As Optimus always said—"

She pressed a button under the table, lighting up a hologram. It showed Optimus and Megatron fighting, seemingly on the brink of death.

"One shall stand, one shall fall."

Firestorm's eyes were glued to it, watching her leader's every move, grimacing at each falter, getting more worried at each advance. Nightmare grew a smile, growing wider with each face Firestorm made. After a minute, Nightmare shut it off, and leaned back in her chair, still smiling at the pain Firestorm felt.

"Well, now that that's done, you wanted something?"

Firestorm snapped out of it, standing up so fast I wondered if she had coffee.

"The treaty. We needed to discuss what would happen if it were broken."

Something twanged inside Nightmare. "Broken? Do you possibly think that I would break this treaty? Of course, YOU think so. Because I, the Decepticon, the last true descendant to Unicron, am more likely to? That's bullshards, you know that?"

She grasped the ends of her armchair, leaning further towards us. Her optics narrowed, her face no longer showing amusement.

"So, you have the guts to come over here, way past your boundary, to tell ME that I can't cross? Well, looks like the cats out of the bag, because you're in deeper scrap than you know."

Firestorm stiffened, becoming wide-eyed. "What do you mean, the cat's out of the bag?"

Nightmare smiled grimly. "I have already taken more than my fair share, whether you like it or not. Now, go to sleep."

Before I could respond, a sharp pain fills my back. Apparently, the chairs were rigged. Firestorm slumped to the ground, her optics dimming as fast as mine. The last things I hear are the few words, commanding and quick.

Send the girl back. I'm keeping Firestorm.

.


	7. Chapter 7

I am thrown through many holes, each one getting smaller than the last. My armor scratches, then is left shredded by the sharp sides of each hole. I scream in pain and terror, hoping for relief, anything to get me to stop. Anything.  
>Nightmare. Why would she do this? All this hurt was her own doing, and there was no chance of me or Firestorm blotting it now. The dark part of my mind finally breaches. I fall into the last dark hole, my battered mind and body not able to withstand anything anymore. Grateful for the peace and quiet and throbbing pain, I pass out.<br>At that same instant, my mind felt like it was being slapped with a cheese grater. I swat whatever hit me away, mumbling absently for it to stop. I realize that my eyes are closed, closed tight from the small spasm that I had just witnessed. I slowly regain my sight, opening my eyes slowly as to not blind myself. I was in…words could not place it. Something between an operating room and a prison block. Moving my foot, I feel something squishy. Wait…there's scrapling's on the floor? Where are they coming from?  
>These scrapling's were nothing but humans, awakened and brought to attention by my thrashing and screaming. The more I looked, the more distinct the fear on each face. In the doorway, a couple mechs stood guard, one with a child on his shoulder. The other having drawn numerous weapons and assorted pointy objects. As drugged as I felt, I almost soared to my feet as I abled my weapons. Speaking of which…were gone. They stripped me of my weapons. Why? I nearly killed them at the school. THE SCHOOL. OH PRIMUS.<p>

~~~~~~ Angela's POV ~~~~~~

I clung on as hard as I could as the giant mech called Optimus Prime swerved around a corner. He was about to find Ironhide, my apparent 'guardian' when the alarm went off. As much as I knew, something was going on with the super-deadly femme in the other sector. Optimus totally forgot that I was on his shoulder, and started running. And right now, I still think he still doesn't know. I let out a much restrained squeal as he rounded another, tighter corner. Finally, we slow down in the operation room, where the femme was…awake. Fully alert, she was holding up her fists in defense, obviously ready to roundhouse punch (or flick, if humans were fair game) anyone who came too close.  
>Optimus let me down from his shoulder and spoke to a scientist-looking guy with a clipboard. "What happened?"<br>"No clue, Optimus. She was completely normal until she started screaming bloody murder. We tried to make her stop with the nerve stabilizers we got from your medic, but no luck. After five minutes, she woke and jumped up, ready to fight."  
>"I wish some of my soldiers were like that."<br>I turn around to see William Lennox, a smug look on his face. He introduced himself a couple days ago, showing me around the place. He even took me to target practice and let me use the M-80's. I liked the guy.  
>"Our troops say that nothing could have caused it except a bad case of Taco Bell poisoning. As funny as I find that, do you have any idea of what could have made this?"<br>Optimus shook his head, eying the femme with a conscious eye. "Only Ratchet would know. I have never witness nor experienced such a reaction. Maybe it's not the femme's own doing?"  
>I shrug, even though the question was not for me. "Optimus, as far as we know, she might be malfunctioning from her stabilizers. But even I know that she might be mental."<br>Lennox snorted, "Wasn't she already?"  
>"I meant mental as in mentally attacked. I have woken the same way before because of nightmares. As stupid as that sounds, I don't think it's a physical reaction. What do you think, Prime?"<br>He nods in approval. "If the femme is as linked as I think she is, then her processor might be the case. What puzzles me is your 'nightmare' concept. Only one Prime had the ability to dream, and she-"  
>Overfilled with joy, I punched my fist in the air, Lennox giving me a face." Optimus, giving a similar face, asked me what is wrong.<br>"I bet Epps forty dollars that there was a female Prime. He brushed me away, but soon he's gonna brush away his retirement fund!" I cup my hands in the direction of Epps (helping the loading dock at the time) and yell:"  
>"HEY EPPS! REMEMBER OUR BET? WELL, JOKES ON YOU! I WIN THIS TIME, NOW HAND ME THE MONEY!"<br>Optimus, after my wonderful collection from the mumbling Epps, explained further.  
>"Solus Prime, the only femme Prime, was the blacksmith of the thirteen. She gave us many things, but above all were stealth, diversity, and dreams."<br>"So…only those from her descent could dream? I guess she didn't have many kids, then."  
>"She did not manufacture many heirs, but those whom she did were highly respected and thought of as oracles. The last heir known died half a billion years ago. That is why it is unlikely to think of her as an heir. The odds are too slim."<br>The word 'odds' perked me up. "Odds? So there is a chance? Just because the odds are slim, doesn't mean that they are nonexistent. I'm not hoping that she is from Solus, but what I'm saying is-"  
>"-it's impossible, kid." Lennox crossed his arms, ready for one of my arguments. "When they say the chances are too slim, they literally mean almost nonexistent. If the last heir were half a billion years ago, and..." He turned to look at Ratchet, who had appeared again, "How old can you guys live for, on average?"<br>Ratchet narrowed his eyes and shrugged, "Three hundred and seventy million years, if you want an estimation."  
>As if to prove his point, he turned back around to me. "See? They could not possibly live long enough for another heir."<br>I feel my temple pulse, my anger slowly getting higher. "Okay then. What if it wasn't just one heir? A whole family, away from the government's eye. No one would know about them. Plus, the last known heir was half a billion years ago. What if there was another one, not documented and known about? Well, Lennox?"  
>Will opened his mouth to argue, just before someone cut him off.<br>"OPTIMUS! I'M HERE! WHAT-"  
>"Calm, Ironhide. The femme is being managed for now. There is nothing to fear."<br>I stare at the new Autobot, who had his hands on his knees, struggling for breath. He was close to Optimus's height, but black all over. A gruff face, boxed features. But what really caught my eye was the gigantic plasma pulse launcher on his wrist. Millisecond reloading mechanism, chrome finish, and a solar battery. Damn, when they said he was perfect for weapon specialist, they meant it. After finally catching his breath, he caught me standing on Optimus's shoulder. After staring for a few seconds, he coughed and stood straighter. Wow, he sure wasn't quick on the draw when it came to ladies, that's for sure.  
>"Ironhide, this is Angela. You will protect her through this ordeal until otherwise noted. Understood?"<br>Optimus put me down so the black bot would get a better look at me. He looked me up and down a couple times before nodding his head in approval. "At least she's older than I hoped for. She needs a shooting license and a tour around the place."  
>I let out a held breath, thankful that the guy didn't want to shoot me on the spot. He must have noticed this, because he chuckled and raised an eyebrow. "Don't worry, kid. If you were one of those pink and prissy types, you'd be nothing but a stain on my armor. The names Ironhide, if you didn't know already."<br>I returned the look, motioning to his gun with a flick of my fingers. "Nice piece of weaponry. Millisecond reloading is a favorite mode of mine. My name's Angela, if you didn't know already." I made a waving motion with my arms, enunciating the effect of you-say I-say. He laughed in response, before looking to Optimus.  
>"You know, I can see why Bumblebee enjoys having a human to guard. These things know dignity when they see it!" I have a brainfart for a minute. Dignity? I had heard Elizabeth use it once, when she had aimed a rubber band at a kid when he wouldn't give her back her phone. She had literally climbed her desk, balanced on the top of her chair, knelt down, and aimed the rubber band three inches away from the guy's face. I remember now. 'Give me the phone, and I will let you escape with your dignity.' I guess that meant pride, because the guy didn't hesitate giving her phone back. He even let her alone for the rest of the year. I felt my heart sink when I remembered that that girl I knew wasn't Eliza. It was some alien, planning to kill us all by all means necessary. Eliza was nobody. Just an act. Just a shell of something far more evil than her day-to-day school antics. I already miss Eliza. As cruel, ignorant, and negative as she was, she was still my friend. We got together at lunch, and laughed at all the things possible. Like we owned the world. Like we could do anything. But that wasn't the case. She helped me when times got hard, and vice versa. We went out for lunch, the bowling alley, even a small concert once. All that, an act? Something a machine could do?<br>Before I knew it, we were already at the door to the Containment Area. I remembered the agreement to send me into the room to negotiate. The femme as no longer bound, but I could tell something was holding her back. She seemed to be meditating, calming herself down after her...whatever happened. She looks beat up, like she's close to claiming defeat. Her 'clothes' were scratched, heavily dented in some places. Her face showed no exception to the abuse, although I couldn't recall anything happening to it. The heavy glass door opens, a group of white lab-rat scientists leading us in. With her eyes closed, she seems almost pretty. In a pointed sort of way.  
>Ironhide drew a simple rifle and cocked t. "Just in case she wants to get smart with you or me." Optimus did not oppose this, though I could see it in his eyes that he didn't exactly approve of it, though. He stood a short distance away, also ready for anything that might happen with the unstable femme. Out of nowhere, a short guy comes out with a rod-looking thingy. He hits it across a metal box a few times, then lightly touches the femme. Her eyes open, so fast that the movement startles me. After staring blankly for a few seconds, she notices me on the ground, staring at her with a look that said give-me-answers-or-answer-to-my-friend's-rifle. She sighs, unamused at all of this. She opens he mouth, and speaks with a voice I didn't want to hear.<br>"Well. Long time no see, mi amigo."  
>I feel myself stiffen, already afraid of anything that might go wrong. Her shooting me. Her shooting someone else. Her being shot. The possibilities were above numbered; they're impossible to count.<br>"Don't call me that. You were never my friend. You acted this all out."  
>I said what I wanted let out so badly. You lied to me. You were never alive. Don't play nice. That's all I wanted to say, but I know that I had to ask of more. From her, especially.<br>She lowered her head at my harsh words. "I understand that what I did makes you feel stupid, and maybe embarrassed. However, it was the only way to blend in."  
>I give her one of my cold, hard stares. "You never blended in. So many people hated you, you know. And you just brushed it off, because you had plans to kill them later."<br>Surprisingly, she flinched at this. " My only mission was to find out where the Cube was hidden. I was supposed to kill you all, but that is part of a no-witnesses policy. In truth, I didn't want to kill anybody, especially not you." She glared at Ironhide, who caught his breath at her look, "my only targets were the Autobots and anybody else who interfered."  
>Before I could continue our showdown, Ironhide nudged me forward and spoke, "You had something to ask, didn't you?"<br>Oh. Right. I cleared my throat, as if Eliza was going to rip it out if I messed this up. She showed interest, confusion, and slight anger in her...eyes.  
>"Eliza-"<br>"Call me Xena, Angela. My designation is what we use."  
>I raise an eyebrow. "Alright. Xena, the government wants you and I to negotiate a peace treaty. We will ask you to tell all information that you know of the next Decepticon attack, in exchange for your freedom." Her features picked up on the word 'freedom'. She sat straighter, and lifted her head up so that she could eye me properly.<br>"Seems simple. What's the catch?"  
>I look up to Ironhide, who nodded at me in return. Oh God, she was not going to like this.<br>"The catch is that after you're free, the Autobots win the right of hunting you down and killing you on sight"  
>She froze, obviously expecting something less crude. Her face went hard.<br>"A right? Since when is it a right to kill me? You have me here, disabled to the point where I can't move any of my limbs, caught in an argument that will for sure get me killed, runaway attempt or not. If you have any self-respect, you should kill me now, when I'm weak. That's how you do things, right?" she looks over to Ironhide, who for now holds an unsurpassing gaze. "it's all strategy with you. But no matter how complicated it gets, one string of words gets through. Kill them. Is that all that you think of? What about those who don't want to fight? You're not the only ones with the so-called lamers. We have them too. They just want all this unneeded bloodshed to stop and never come back. It's just a shame that Megatron lead us down this way. At least we die for our leader, sure. We are dying for a leader that only sees the tainted path of greed and cruelty. But I assure you, not all of us are like that. Sure, I am, only because we have to be like that. If not, we lose everything. Do you want to lose everything you ever knew?"  
>As unexpected as that little speech was, every word felt right. I didn't want to lose everything, sure. But why pretend?<br>Those words came out of Ironhide's mouth. "Then why don't all the Decepticons who are honestly tired of it join us and destroy Megatron?"

She looks up at him with a look of boredom. "Do you want to end up the same way many of your colleagues did? Dead, with their insides ripped out? Megatron may be only one, but he is a strong, smart, and an incredibly good fighter. I know from experience that his wrath is not to messed with. Only the truly strong can defeat him."  
>I speak up, wanting my two cents in. "Maybe, but it was the same with Unicron, right? When they fought, Unicron ended up losing because he was outnumbered."<br>Xena growled, losing patience with every combated word. "True, but Megatron has fought many armies, some outnumbering him. And his spark still runs, I can assure that. Still, I am not going to be hunted down after I give up information."  
>Ironhide grumbled, twirling the rifle around his arm. "It's a one-time only deal, Decepticon. Take it, and we won't kill you until you're free. Leave it, and we can keep you here to let your insides rot until you agree to negotiate. You got that?"<br>To my shock, Xena actually snorted. "Geez, no wonder Chromia cried for you. She was the same as you. Tough skin, soft insides. Especially when it comes to their partners."  
>Ironhide nearly pistol-whipped her at that point. In my mind, I tossed around the name. Chromia...it sounds feminine. Maybe his partner? Or his girlfriend? I grow hot in the face when I realize why Ironhide was taking this so hard. Chromia was his girlfriend.<br>Ironhide growled and pointed the barrel at the femme's head. "Don't you bring Chromia into this. You drove her nearly insane."  
>Xena licked her lips in thought. "I didn't do it, one of my soldiers did. They had full rights to do an interrogation attempt, as our laws said. Of course, being so much like you she didn't say a word. So we decided to just put her back, surrounded by the rotting corpses of her friends and family." Xena looked past the pain-stricken face of Ironhide, as if recalling a distant memory. "All right, then. I agree to your negotiation. On one condition, though."<br>Ironhide tapped his finger on the trigger, "After that, I think my standards for agreements have increased to murder."  
>Xena rolled her eyes. "My condition is that you give me a head start."<br>Everyone in the room pauses for minute. Confusion hangs in the air, followed by sudden understanding. A head start. Of course.  
>Optimus Prime asked, "How many days?"<br>Ironhide nearly blew his hood off. "WHAT? Optimus, you can't be serious. She doesn't deserve to live. Not after-"  
>"I understand how much Chromia means to you, Ironhide. But in order to negotiate, we must meet both our demands and the captive's."<br>Xena, happy with her newfound respect, replied simply, "Twenty-four hours. That is all I ask after you let me go. You can give my twenty-four hours to go and hide, and then after that I'm fair game. How does that sound to you?"  
>Optimus said, without missing a beat, "It is imperative that we discuss this as a group. We will hold a meeting to see if this demand can be met. Ironhide, I need you to alert the others about this. Go and wake Bumblebee."Grumbling, Ironhide and I leave the room with dark and murderous thoughts. "Justice," he complained, finding the Recharge Room, "it's never served when Optimus is around."<br>"Agreed."

Three hours later, everyone is asleep for the night. Only one is awake, looking at the wall of the room with a deadly intensity. Xena, Captain of Legion Five, Third in Command right next to Starscream, had been thinking about everything. An escape plan, a method of revenge. However, nothing came to her except the fact of defeat. This isn't how it was supposed to go. Not at all. She was supposed to watch the Earth, along with the Autobots, burn from the safety of the Main Ship. Not watch them burn in anger fifteen feet away with nothing to put out their lives.  
>She breathed a sigh and looked up to the ceiling. The minor comfort of seeing the starry sky was taken away by a two-foot thick concrete wall. Her instinct to fly was powerful, but was impossible with the loss of her wings. They had taken them off, momentum stabilizers and powerboots. Gone. Locked away somewhere inside this Primus-forsaken warehouse. And she hated it. She hated it so much that it took all her energy to stay put in one place, not try to break free. Hate. It was the most lived-on emotion she used. Why anything else? Surrounded by her worst enemies, on a planet doomed for destruction, because she failed to do the simplest things.<br>She laid back, hopelessly looking up at the ceiling again to see if there were stars in the sky. But once again, only blank gray concrete met her eyes. She closed her eyes and ordered herself into recharge. If she died tomorrow, at least she died with revenge in her spark. For that revenge will be carried out, as she haunts the Autobots and drives them insane. For another day comes new promises, she told herself, feeling her Energon flow slow down considerably, and new promises can kill.

Thank you for being so patient! I promise to upload the new chapter on Degraded Blood once I find the time! School just started, and it's gonna kick my aft for now -_-'. But once again, thank you!  
>Random question: What would be your vehicle mode (have to include color, vehicle, and brandmodel).  
>Ex. Green Suzuki motorcycle.<p> 


End file.
